Back from Gila

What a week, it doesn't seem like I've been gone that long until I feel my tired legs reminding me of all the racing I've done over the last five days.

We rolled out of Denver last Monday after Seth got off work. We've become the master packers; thats five bikes eight wheelsets, four pieces of luggage, and enough groceries to last us a week all in the back of a pathfinder.

We stopped off in Albuquerque for a little rest Monday night and finished the trip to Silver City, NM the next morning. We passed a tow truck that bends the fabric of time to get 25 hours out of their days.

The views down around Silver City are not of the stereotypical NM many think of.

We were surprised to see the circus was in SC, Seth was amazed by the carny folk and freak show. Tell me since when have circus tickets gone up to $20 a person.


Wednesday was the time trial, which was far from flat. It was a 16.5mile course starting with 5miles of climbing then some rollers, turn around, more rollers 2miles of steeper climbing and 5 miles down hill. I finished 2nd with a time of 38:46 and Seth finished 3rd about 11 seconds behind me. After the TT Seth and I went and spun around.

Our dinner accommodations at night where a little on the Redneck side, a hot plate, some pots, pasta, salad, and some meat cooked outside our hotel door.

Thursday was a 67 mile road race with a six mile category 1 climb to the finish. The final climb starts out with a super steep 17% grade, followed by a 15%, 10%, another 15% all the way to the finish. I got fifth in stage 2, and 2nd in the overall GC.

Stage 3 was a 78 mile road race with three category three climbs. It was pretty uneventful until with two mile left I began launching attack after attack and got 7th at the line. Unfortunately I got caught behind a crash and was forced to chase back on to the lead group all of while the winning break went off the front, so needless to say I missed being in the winning break do to the crash; oh well, I fell only one spot in the GC to 3rd.

Stage 4 was a crit in downtown Silver City, I did really nothing except for a few attacks and the GC remained the same at the end.

Saturday afternoon, after the crit, we got together with the Colavita boys and worked out a plan for the last stage.

During our time in SC Joe and Patrick stayed a few nights with us, but got their own room across the street for the rest of the time, so Joe decided to do some moving....including running his inflated mattress right across the street in the middle of traffic.
That night our cooking accommodations got upgraded, we cooked at Mike's hotel and had dinner with him, we decided to jazz up the salad a little for him.

Stage 5 was a 77mile road race with a cat 3 climb followed by a trip over the continental divide and then a 20 mile climbing finish up a category 2 climb. Seth took off on a solo suicide mission at mile 38 and we caught him at the base of the final climb, at which point he drifted back and lost some time, but at least he tried. Ryan Hamilton (Colavita) and I did our thing and drove a group of 6 up the final climb. Walker (5280) sat in and jumped with a mile to go winning the stage and moved into third but I was able to move myself into 2nd in the overall GC and Seth finished 19th in the GC.

I have to say that Tour of the Gila is the hardest, longest race that I have done so far, and I loved it, this will be a race that will always be on my race schedule.